Local Colleges: UMass women's basketball, a cut above George Washington to open A-10

With Atlantic 10 conference play opening Saturday it was like a new season, so University of Massachusetts women’s basketball head coach Sharon Dawley thought she’d get it off to a healthy start by making herself a nice salad before leaving home.

But she sliced her finger instead of the apple, the blood gushed out, and several stitches were required after the game.

“That’s what I get for eating healthy,” she quipped.

But the main course went without a scratch. The Minutewomen tossed into the garbage their eight-game losing streak and 2-13 non-conference record, and confidently defeated George Washington 62-58 at the Mullins Center in the A-10 opener for both teams.

Picked to finish 15th out of 16th in the A-10 preseason poll (and that was looking optimistic the way the non-conference slate went), the Minutewomen are 1-0 and tied for first.

Dawley assured all in the post-game press conference that her finger wrappings were not because she had been attempting to cut her wrist during the last five minutes of Saturday’s game when a 15-point lead nearly evaporated from a ferocious GW comeback attempt.

“If I were going to do that, I would have done it about 10 games ago,” she kidded.

But while Dawley’s pre-game health initiative may have failed, her players are getting better, both health-wise and on the court.

Canadian redshirt junior guard Carolann Cloutier, recovering from a torn ACL of her right knee, connected on two consecutive three-pointers in the second half to give the Minutewomen a 42-31 lead. She later made an inspirational save of an overthrown pass going over the end line, and fired it off a charging GW defender out of bounds - keeping the ball with UMass.

“That was great hustle,” Dawley said.

And sophomore Aisha Rodney, really healthy for the first time in her collegiate career, went 5 for 5 for 10 points, added five rebounds, including two key ones late on the offensive boards. Last year, she suffered a concussion, and was sick at the end of the year. This year, she sprained her ankle in preseason training.

Cloutier’s speed, key because she likes to run and push the ball, has noticeably improved from even a few weeks back.

The UMass victory came without Australian redshirt junior Kiara Bomben, who scored a team and career high of 18 points in the previous game against Dartmouth. Bomben had flu-like symptoms, but is expected back Wednesday at Fordham.

“Our attitude is that it’s a new season, and we practiced very well this week,” Dawley said. “I was pleased with our rebounding. We had good performances from a lot of players.”

GW’s late-game spurt was orchestrated by new head coach Jonathan Tsipis, who carries a fabulous resume that includes having spent the last nine seasons as an assistant coach and associate head coach for Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame. He was responsible for developing the game plan for three dozen Irish wins against nationally-ranked opponents, including six with UConn. His associate head coach at GW (6-9) is former Irish standout guard Megan Duffy. Tsipis’ father, Lou, is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“We went small,” the enthusiastic Tsipis said of Saturday’s late rush. “We had some success doing it against Howard (a 61-60 win Dec. 15) when we were down 13 or 14.”
Down the stretch, the Colonials put in two freshmen speedsters, drove to the hoop, and forced UMass fouls and subsequent turnovers.

Dawley put out three point guards to handle the attack and the ball. The lead was down to 59-56 when speedy but sometimes erratic freshman Nola Henry got her biggest basket to date, banking the ball off the glass with 13 seconds left.

“I think that bucket is going to do a lot for her confidence,” Dawley said.
Dawley said that while finally winning was a relief, at no time during the losing streak did she blame the players.

“They were trying, and we were losing because they were trying too hard.”

Bridgewater State 63, Westfield State 47 – Senior Elisha Homich of Ludlow scored a game-high 24 points to lead the impressive and host Bears (12-2, 3-0 MASCAC). It was the third straight game Homich has scored at least 20 points.

Andre French scored 15 points in 19 minutes for the Blazers (6-7) who remained unbeaten in NECC play at 5-0.

Saint Anselm 66, AIC 65 – The Yellow Jackets (5-8, 2-7) were down by 20 points four minutes into the second half, and nearly pulled off a miracle comeback at Manchester, N.H. The Hawks (12-2, 7-2) are in the also receiving votes category in the Division II Top 25.